JEANLOUP SIEFF
Photographer Jeanloup Sieff was known his sensuous black-and-white nudes, portraits of artists and politicians, fashion photography, and surrealist-inflected landscapes. Influenced by the new-wave filmmakers of the 1950s, Sieff developed a style characterized by clean, modern elegance, capturing long bare backs, sumptuous curves, and ladies’ lingerie. “I have always maintained there is no such thing as art,” he once said. “There are only artists, producing things that give them pleasure, doing so under some compulsion, perhaps even finding the process painful, but deriving a masochistic joy from it!” Sieff worked for Elle and the Magnum Agency, and his work has appeared in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, among other publications.
The Corset, New York, 1962
The Corset, New York, 1962
Image size 50 x 40 cm
Frame size 72x57 cm
Gelatin Silver Print
Printed later
Signed verso by the inheritor, archive stamp
In this photo, ‘Corset,’ which Sieff took at the peak of his career, there is nothing non-essential. It is focused on a female silhouette and the fashion model’s hands, which softly contrast with the two main colors of the photo. The picture is infused with the subtle minimalism, exquisite simplicity, and elegant taste that have become the photographer’s trademark. © Estate of Jeanloup Sieff.
YVES SAINT LAURENT, PARIS
Yves Saint Laurent, Paris, 1971
Image size 50 x 40 cm
Frame size 62x62 cm
Gelatin Silver Print
Printed later
Signed verso by the inheritor, archive stamp
This photo of a young Yves Saint Laurent was taken in Paris in 1971. The fashion designer posed for Sieff and even lent his dresses for photo sessions. This photo is truly unique: for the first time in the history of fashion, a designer acted as a model for his own advertising campaign for the YSL, Pour Homme fragrance. © Estate of Jeanloup Sieff.